On Thursday, Apple and the National Basketball Association announced a partnership that includes an Apple Music playlist featuring tracks that will be used in game highlights shared on social media.
Mark Gurman and Scott Soshnick for Bloomberg:
The Base:Line playlist will have about 40 songs with a hip-hop vibe and will be refreshed weekly, Jeff Marsilio, the NBA’s senior vice president of new media distribution, said in an interview. The tracks will also be available on the NBA app and website, and will be used in game highlights shared on social media, the NBA said.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s services chief and a well-known NBA fan, was involved in the deal. He said Apple is excited about the partnership and that the playlist is designed to support emerging and established independent “urban artists.”
While the playlist will be maintained by Apple, many of the songs will come from UnitedMasters, a relatively new music label that connects about 190,000 independent artists to audiences through direct partnerships with brands.
MacDailyNews Take: Aligning with popular sports leagues such as the NBA is obviously a smart move for Apple Music which is already the No.1 streaming music subscription service in the No.1 music market. As the NBA has worldwide appeal, these types of partnerships will only help Apple Music continue to grow around the globe!
Too bad the NBA generally promotes/listens to shitastic music
GGrreeaatt! Isn’t the NBA in trouble in China? I can see how this can easily turn into boycott Apple too situation.
Don’t worry, Timmy will do whatever Xi demands. Apple’s dependency on China is undiminished.